Disturbing simulation shows how man lived with a fork in his stomach for 10 years
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Zack D. Films/YouTube
A gruesome simulation demonstrates how a British man had to undergo surgery after living with a plastic fork in his stomach for 10 years.
Whether as a naïve child, a dumb teenager or a drunken fool, I'm sure all of us have eaten something we shouldn't have at one point or another.
In saying that, though, I'm referring to something like a Lego brick or a penny - I can't imagine many people have accidentally eaten something as big as a fork.
But in the early 2000s, Lee Gardner did exactly that while playing around with a disposable fork in his mouth.
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Gardner gagged with the utensil in his mouth and accidentally swallowed it, but amazingly it didn't cause him any issues for years.
"The advice at the time was that it would just pass through my system," Gardner told BBC News as he spoke about the incident.
It wasn't until 2012 that Gardner had to go to hospital, after he started experiencing stomach cramps and vomiting up blood.
Recalling his experience, Gardner said: "While they were looking inside me with the camera the doctor said 'are you sure you've not swallowed anything?'
"I said no but when he asked again, 'Are you sure? I can see prongs of what appears to be a fork,' I remembered accidentally swallowing one years and years ago."
Upon further inspection, doctors realized the prongs of the plastic fork had pressed on to Gardner's stomach lining, resulting in an ulcer which led to the bleeding.
A disturbing simulation created by Zack D. Films helps demonstrate Gardner's situation - though be warned, it's quite graphic:
Gardner had to undergo surgery, but thankfully doctors were able to remove the nine-inch-long utensil.
Gardner said: "I can't believe it. I have never had any problems with my stomach except once a couple of years ago I remember thinking I felt like something had lodged when I bent over awkwardly."
Surgeon Hanis Shiwani said Gardner was lucky he didn't suffer more damage as a result of the fork.
He explained: "If something does get lodged, then normally a patient would become ill almost immediately.
"This is why Lee's case is so uncharacteristic, not just because the object is a fork but because we believe there are only a handful of cases reported like this where a foreign object has been inside someone for such a long time.
"Lee is extremely lucky that the fork hasn't caused more damage but we are confident he will make a full recovery."